In what is at the very least an admirable feat of engineering, Lenovo today announced what it calls the world’s smallest commercial PCs. Adopting the name of the company’s work-centric ThinkCentre desktops, the ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano and the M90n-1 Nano IoT are compact PCs designed for workspaces where room might be very limited, or the conditions rugged.

The “ordinary” ThinkCentre Nano M90n can stash just about anywhere, and with a full complement of desktop features, its versatility could be vital to some users. The Nano IoT, meanwhile, is slightly larger, more rugged, and fanless, meant for harsher working environments. Both will ship in August, with the Nano starting at $ 639 and the Nano IoT at $ 539. We’ve got plenty more details on each, though, so read on for key specs, views, and my impressions from a preview event in New York City.

Meet the New Nanos

When Lenovo first pulled the proverbial (and very small) curtain off the ThinkCentre Nano and handed me the device, I was impressed. It’s small—65 percent smaller than the already-compact ThinkCentre Tiny, of which we’re working on a review at the moment. It’s 0.86 inch thick, and the footprint is very minimal at 7 inches by 3.5 inches, making it well suited to being stored just about anywhere. You can slot it behind a desktop (Lenovo’s ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One, in particular, has a slot devoted to small PCs in the rear) or monitor, mount it to a wall, or put it under a desk to clear surface space entirely. This little guy weighs an adorable 1.1 pounds, making setup or transfer a breeze. Lenovo also touts the energy savings this tiny box will net you, especially if applied at large scale.

Compact But Competent…

The design is easy to appreciate—you can see how little and thin it really is. Whether your office is simply limited on space or there’s a specialized area where you need multiple machines within tight confines, several ThinkCentre Nanos could do the job.

What components could fit inside such a small form factor? You may be surprised how capable it is. (These are still suited to commercial use, after all.) It can be outfitted with an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 CPU, though these are U-Series mobile-class chips generally used in ultra-thin laptops (an understandable choice from a thermal perspective). It can also be equipped with up to 16GB of memory and, if you’d like, up to two 512GB SSDs. It may not be a workstation, but that should add up to a competent machine able to take reasonable workloads, not unlike the slim laptops with which it shares parts in common.

…And Tiny But Tough

This tiny box is also up to MIL-810G SPEC standards for durability. What you see here is the more general-use version of the Nano; its Nano IoT (Internet of Things) compatriot (which I’ll discuss more below) is the true choice for hazardous or hardware-hostile environments. But the “regular” Nano can take at least a little bit of abuse.

The MIL-810G SPEC standard includes being tested against 10 different conditions, among them shocks, drops, dust, and humidity. No, it probably won’t survive a fall off a catwalk or crushing pressure, but it can last through less-than-ideal conditions if it’s on a job site or being transferred between locations where dust and debris are the norm.

Front Ports for Easy Access

Much like a full-size desktop, the Nano also has plenty of ports. While it may be slightly lacking in, say, the number of USB ports versus a mini-tower, nothing essential is missing. In the front, you’ll find two USB 3.1 ports, as well as a USB Type-C port and an audio jack.

Outsize Port Options

The real port party is around back. Here you’ll find two more USB 3.1 ports and another USB Type-C connection, as well as a DisplayPort for connecting to an external monitor. There is no HDMI port, which is arguably the only miss among the more common ports (in case you were thinking about easy digital signage use with a big-screen TV). But between DisplayPort and the USB-C connections (which can be connected to an HDMI adapter), your bases should be covered.

Finally, a full-size Ethernet jack allows for wired connections, which is often essential for desktop work. There is an internal expansion slot for an M.2 Wi-Fi and a Bluetooth transmitter.

The Nano IoT: A Tougher, More Connected Nano

The Nano IoT shares a lot of the general design concepts with the other Nano, but it’s even more specialized. You can tell from its look that it’s more industrial, which hints at what it’s meant for. In addition to passing the MIL-SPEC standards that the ordinary Nano does, it boasts a fanless design, which has multiple advantages. Performance should be more stable without a mechanical part like a CPU cooling fan, and it’s also better suited to environments with dust and dirt, which can clog fans.

It can also endure more extreme temperatures, with a broader thermal operating range than the Nano (32 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit). If you need computers in construction sites, the outdoors, or similar work spaces, the Nano IoT can handle them while still offering a compact design. It is a little larger than the non-IoT version, but it still measures only 1.35 by 7 by 3.5 inches and weighs 1.7 pounds.

What’s in a Name?

With the increase of IoT platforms and work spaces, the Nano IoT has a wireless-first mindset, with support for multiple connections, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LPWAN, and WWAN. The use case will vary by company, of course, but the Nano IoT is suited for relaying data from sensors and other devices to remote connections and cloud servers.

The lower pricing and the limits imposed by a fanless design mean that the internals of this machine are less potent than the regular Nano’s. It only offers up to Intel Core i3 processors, 8GB of memory, and a single 512GB SSD. These are not meant to be PCs you do regular office work on, but are designed for more specialized tasks, such as factory automation, quick check-ins, and data gathering or storage. But they certainly still can handle simpler tasks.

A Different Port Selection

Of course, ports are important for custom or specialized installations. The front face offers two USB 3.1 ports, a USB-C port, and an audio jack. The biggest differences from the other Nano are the other two interlopers: very noticeable dual RS-232 ports. That inclusion goes back to the focus on internet connectivity, as these can hook up to, say, a modem to relay data or to tasks that require data gathering, such as scanning inventory using a barcode device.

Even More Ports

Around back are a USB 3.1 port, a USB-C port, a DisplayPort connection for an external monitor, and an Ethernet jack. This isn’t exactly a plethora of ports, but on such a small box, it’s generous and covers the essentials. That said…

Expand It to Your Heart’s Content

…an interesting twist is the ability to physically add more ports. This is done through Lenovo’s scalable I/O box design, allowing you to essentially bolt more ports on to the PC with modular add-ons like the one shown here. If you need more wired connections, this clever solution can tack them on to your box without changing anything else.

Check back for further coverage of these models when units become available for testing.

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